Not many w140 owners on here?

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sarangimaster

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
44
Car
S500 W140
Haven't been here for long but I seem to realize not many users have the w140? Is there a reason for this :D:D
 
i have one but she sits in a friends scrap yard selling the parts for me
 
Presumably because compared to other older models there are fewer on the road. W140s are great cars but the potential running costs put some people off.
 
I think the car itself to buy in the first place isn't that expensive to buy, but for a car that was £70,000+ maintenance costs are going to be high! But its such a solid, smooth, well built car. Worth every penny in my opinion!
 
I bought my CL420 last week.......I will be putting it into full service in about ten days from now.....beautiful car.

Mic
 
I used to have a tatty ex-taxi s280, used it as a runaround for 6 month's till the mot ran out. She was a comfy old thing to waft about in though, just ignore all the creeks and groans from the suspension. :eek:
 
Hi,
I own a 1998 LWB S320. Its a great car and one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned. Its maintenance costs aren't high at all. The trick with these cars is finding one in good condition with a good service record. For the W140, cheap can be very expensive. But when they are good.....they are the best!!! Stability, power, presence.....a real head turner on the highway and handles like a feather for such a big heavy car!!!
 
How does the snippet of wisdom go?

"If you can't afford a good one, you certainly can't afford a bad one"
 
I've just bought one 4 weeks ago. A real dream car, a 1997 W140 S320 long wheelbase, Emerald Black, with grey heated electric leather seats and Black Birds Eye Maple trim. What a great car! When I bought it, I saw one of the rear headrests wouldn't come up (electric) and the centre fan wasn't blowing and the extra brake light was out. The garage I bought it from is getting everything put right by Mercedes (I collect it tomorrow afternoon) so I have no idea about costs! All I know is - fuel efficient they are NOT!

But what a great car!
 
Hi Neliz,
Please post pictures as soon as you can.....I agree with you on fuel efficiency. In my case my car is not my daily driver. Is your close assist working?? What about SLS?? Those can be a headache. You will love that car.....that I can guarantee!!!

regards
 
I looked at them a few years ago , but was put off by tales of woe on various forums , the complexity of DIY maintenance and the general consensus that they are not as well engineered as a W126 . Not to say they are a bad car ; it is probably like comparing a W124 with a W123 - the earlier cars are noticeably more over engineered as opposed to the later cars being just good enough .

I still like the styling of the W140 and might get one at some point - engine of choice , as with W126 , is probably the 500 : not much thirstier or costlier to maintain than the sixes but much more relaxing to drive .
 
Hi Neliz,
Please post pictures as soon as you can.....I agree with you on fuel efficiency. In my case my car is not my daily driver. Is your close assist working?? What about SLS?? Those can be a headache. You will love that car.....that I can guarantee!!!

regards

I've been meaning to take photos ever since I got it, all I have are the photos I took on first seeing it in a private parking lot opposite the garage covered in dust and filth (I'm attaching them to this post, don't expect much in the way of good photos! But at least they don't show how dusty it was). When the worst of the winter weather has come and gone I plan to have it detailed on the outside and valeted inside so will take more photos then. It's in remarkable condition, though.

It is my daily driver, and the manual states 95 Octane fuel or higher (so it's bloody expensive to drive!). Closing assist doesn't seem to be working on the boot (have to slam it otherwise it bounces up which initially made for some interesting viewing as it whacked me in the face!) and the doors take very little to shut (gentle-ish push) but I don't think close assist works on them either. At least the self levelling suspension is self levelling!

I looked at them a few years ago , but was put off by tales of woe on various forums , the complexity of DIY maintenance and the general consensus that they are not as well engineered as a W126 . Not to say they are a bad car ; it is probably like comparing a W124 with a W123 - the earlier cars are noticeably more over engineered as opposed to the later cars being just good enough .

I still like the styling of the W140 and might get one at some point - engine of choice , as with W126 , is probably the 500 : not much thirstier or costlier to maintain than the sixes but much more relaxing to drive .

Have you ever driven a W140? I think all those people who say design quality is bad haven't a clue, or a devout followers of the elderly-Benz-is-better religion! This model was first around in 1991 so before quality issues started. 99% don't have a biodegradable harness, including mine, and I have never driven such a sturdy car in my life. I've had several SECs, SLs, my notoriously rusty C124 E220 and the W202 C200. I've also had a couple of Rolls Royces and in the 70s and 80s several Ferraris. Out of all of them this car is the most comfortable and most sturdy. It has so many more features than the W126 and having sat as a passenger in many old SEs (and test driven a couple) this is much much better built. I think you'll have to drive one to see for yourself! As for DIY maintenance, mine has the M104.996 engine which still isn't too complicated. There are lots of plastic covers - pull the flaps to access certain parts or just remove them.

So - mine's now 14 years old, has only covered 65000 miles, and is potentially the best car I've ever owned. Full climate control, electric heated reclining seats, electric headrests (novelty for me at least), huge legroom, dual-paned windows, close assist, and very fast acceleration (especially when needed). Did I mention the rear seats having air conditioning? Or sun visors/lit mirrors like those at the front? Or having lights inside to the right of the rear doors? It has so many small touches and none of it's badly made or put together.

Well, very long post over, but I just can't get my head around people saying it's not well made. I mean - mine doesn't have any rust!
 

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I've got a 1998 S500 long wheel base.It's my 5th w140 and cannot get enough of them-great cars
 
Yes , I have both driven and sat passenger in several , including an early 500SEL , the immediate successor to the car I currently run , and an S320 . I even looked at a couple of 600's but was put off that idea by the proprietor of a local garage who had been through THREE of them before settling on a 500 , which was the one he kindly let me drive .

The bodywork is impressively solid and the double glazing does make the car free from wind noise , but there is unquestionably a much greater complexity with much more dependency on electronics which makes DIY work that much harder .

I did seriously consider one before I got my first W126 , but decided the earlier model was a safer option with less potential for financial ruin . I do subscribe to the theory that the engineering on earlier models is much more robust than later ones , having owned examples of every generation from the late 1950's to the late 1980's and driven most models that I have not owned .

I never said that the 140 is a bad car , just that it is not as over engineered as the 126 , is much more complex with more to go wrong and not as easy to maintain at home .

Since getting my 500 , I have covered close to 30,000 trouble free miles and the only thing that does not work is the air con which I have yet to throw some money at , but then the car is ten years older than yours , and nudging 190,000 miles - still some way short of my 430,000 mile W124 .
 
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The way I see it is - without all those electrics the W140 wouldn't give as comfortable ride as it does. Climate control, heated seats, electrically adjustable front and rear memory seats - these things need electrical components to run. And as long as they don't go wrong a much more comfortable ride is to be had. I think that all those electrics make the W140 over-engineered. I know when a car isn't over-engineered - try an early W202 like my C200 from '94. Everything rattled, had next to no electrics, the central locking pump kept making loud whirring noises while driving and all 4 windows played up. And the suspension was knackered. And it took ages to start. And the engine was very loud. And the throttle was very very slow to respond (dangerously so). This was a very low mileage one with full service history. In comparison the W140 is remarkable. So to you over-engineered appears to be a car with few electrics yet offering a very sturdy and comfortable ride. For me it's a very sturdy strong car with every extra Mercedes could come up with, all very well made to last for years and years and years, and a well built and powerful yet quite simple engine.

I'm not saying the W126 is a bad car, it's just that the W140 has so many more features than the W126 but everything is built to the same quality as the W126.
 
..u forgot rear blind in your option list :thumb:
 
I still like the styling of the W140 and might get one at some point......

I think it's the styling that puts a lot of people off. It certainly isn't Mercedes' most inspired piece of design and they look like a bit of a barge especially when compared to the traditional hewn-from-granite looks of the W126 that preceded them and the sleek lines of the W220 that came after.
 
My W126 500SEL has the rear blind , electric seats front & rear , climate control , illuminated visors , cruise , OTG and probably more I've forgotten , my 280SE has everything as above except the electric rear seat ( being SWB ) .

To me , over engineering is not about the number of toys but about things being three to five times as strong as they need to be and not unneccessary complexity for its own sake - hence I like the lever adjusted drivers door mirror and electric passenger one ; no point in a lot of expensive and potentially problematic motors in the drivers one when you can easily reach to adjust it by hand .

As I said , I have nothing against the later cars , but the earlier ones are definitely easier to maintain and simpler in their engineering .
 
I was seriously looking for a W140 s500 when I found my W124. I really liked the big solid look and the performance from the V8. I still wish I had owned one but am happy with the W124 which has the best qualities of the W140. The other cars on my wish list are a nice W124 estate will lots of options and a 560sel.
 

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